Heat-exchanging blower



Sept. 1949- w. G. PATTERSON 2,481,236

HEAT EXCHANGING BLOWER Filed Nov. 21, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR WILLIAM G. PATTERSON ATTORNEYS sept- 6, 1949- w. G. PATTERSON HEAT EXCHANGING BLOWER 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Nov. 21, 1946 IITIVENTOR "WILLIAM IIllIIIII-II'IIIIII' PATTERSON via;

ATTORNEYS and pa'rticiilarly which the heat transfer is b'etweerr 'airbr gas being pumped b tlie' blower and a separate 'fluid medium passing throug lr wholly enclosed-spaces Patented Sept. 6, 1949 -HEAT-EXCHANG1NG I5BLIOVVER William G. Patterson, Chicago, Ill.

Application-November 21, l946yserialNo; 711,399

-1=-0laim.

This-invention relates-to heat exchange' devices heat eziehanging blowers in formed-in the'blcwer casirlg. The main objects 'of thi i lvel itiongaire to :pro-

vide animproved heat-exchanging blower construction to provide slich-a 'lievice hjaving a greater effici'er i'cy "of heatexchange-between two different fluid medlums pas'siri g through the blower construction separately; to'p'rovide suc'h a "devicewhich'can be b'ti ilt as a'siniple; small compa ct unit; I to rev-me such-a clevifcedn which the "blower casing 01 heiising 'ihavbe'kebt alt-a minishown in the accompanying" drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a'view in elevatidn ofthe front or discharge side of the improved heat-eiichanging blower.

. Fig. 2 is a side-elevation ofthe -same-showing the air intake side of the device.

Fig. 3 is a sectional-viewas taken on line -3-3 of Fig; 2. g

I Fig. 4 is a-sect-ional viewas taken onlined-4 of Fig. 3.

'Fig. 5 is a iragmentary-detailed view; as taken on 1-i-ne 5---5* of Fig; 4,-showing thearrangement of external fins on the blower casing; and

Fig. 6 is a-fragmentarysebtional view 'at' the air discharge or outlet openingof the device, "as taken on line 6-"6 of Fig. 4.

In 'the" form shown in "the d'rawings; 'the' improved heatexchange unit" ompri sesa paddle wheel type of volute or centr 'iia'igalblower; having a double-walled scroll; wholly enclosed within a housing spaced radially from the scroll and supported thereon, the" housing havingan air inlet at one side and supporting I a moton at its-iopposite side for driving the blower impeller.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3,11; will be seen that the blower easing comprises ascroll 1, which is a hollow or double-walled construction-having the usual voluteshape-ior centrifugal blow eis, a side plate 2*which completely closes one sideof thescz oll' I andani-nle't--iplaiti disposedat the opposite side-of-the scrollairil having the usual central ii'il'et' opening-- l-throdg'n which air is drawn into the interior of the blower through the '2 "centrifugal action 'of the. 'apaddle wheel-or: i-urpeller5.

The housing which encloses the bloweraeomprises a shell fi, "which :fo'll'ows'thewdlute curvature' of 'the scroll '.'l,="supp0rted" byaangularly spaced axially extendingri'ribs' I -which project radially from the blower scroll l'. Theshll 6 1is thus spaced from scroll l rthroughouteits ventwe peripheral extent leaving a plurality of. en ages between the ribs 1 througl'i whielt air mawfiew: in an axial direction 'frombne side bf the blowerate "the other, over the surf ace of the sci oll I.

A cowl 8 is provided on the side of the housing shell 6, adj aeent the" blower isideplate: 2=owliich cowl isshap'edto the pe'i' iphery-ofl-the sh'e G and curved radially inward f'rom 'the margin nfit'lie shc1l,' to shroud "or overhang the- 'space between the shell and :the scroll I. :The'cowl -thus serves as an 'inletopeningajl forthe devi'ce tlil oiigl'i 'whieh incoming air 'is first eeusedit "engage the surface of the side-plate Z' and is then dire'cted to the spaced axial passagesg-iitending acr'os's' -tl-ie outer or 1 peripheral surface of' the scro'll .l i between thescroll-ahdihe shell 6.

' The opposite sidebf theneusingeempi ls' bell-shaped member 9; fiorined to"fit theeiirif-e; ture of the shell 6, which is spaced e ally? train and completely encloses the" inlet sideor "the blower. The closure member '9 is pi-efi' abl'y formed with-an inwardly ciirved deidtraibpoition 10, centered on' the a'xis o'f the caterer-amend 5, which serves to direct the air passing intoiilie impeller from the spaces between 'tl-ie"sci o l she1l ,-towardthe center oif' the opning inlet plat 3 with a 'rn-irriifiu-m'- turbulence As shown; the impeller or ot'oi' fi i'sfiniouhted -f'ast on a shaft H, whichis' jourriailledfiin [suit-- able bearingsino'unted on'th'e'side plate -2-of'-the blower and int-he -central portion [0' 'offthehous ing closure member" 9. The shaft ll ektelffds through the housing member Qejhdfiscbhhctd, by a suitable coupling 12; tothe shaftexteii'sfion of 1 a motor l3 which is suitably meuhtea externally on the closure member Sjtherhbtdr mount ing being arranged so that the meter sjhaftfiwill be substantially alignewwith the""iln'liellehsfiafft I l.

It will' now be seen that upon fotati on of the fi-mpeller 5 by means oi t he motor I 3; the centrifugal action of theimpe'ller'wil c use air to be drawn through the inlet-opening e51 ei'the cowl a "and the axial passages lietweeiithe blower s'croll I and housing shell fiyintothfinlet open;- ihg- A of the blower. This airwlllthenbebaii wd around the interior of the blower and its pressure increased, due to the pumping action between the impeller and the volute scroll of the blower, until it reaches the discharge outlet I4 where the air will be discharged from the blower into a suitable duct system, not shown, or to atmosphere.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the double-walled scroll I provides a wholly enclosed fluid-tight passage or space 15, which extends around the entire periphery of the scroll from one side of the outlet I4 to the opposite side, and suitable inlet and outlet connections I6 and H, which extend through the shell 6 and into the outer wall of the scroll, are provided for communication with the enclosed space I at its uppermost and lowermost points respectively. Also, as shown in Figures 4 and 6, suitable passages I8 are provided on each side of the outlet I4 for communication between the upper and lower ends of the enclosed space I5 within the walls of the scroll I.

Thus a suitable heating or coolin medium may be: caused to pass through the passage I5 within the walls of the scroll I at the same time that air is being-pumped by the blower and, such air being in wiping contact with both inner and outer surfaces of the scroll, transfer of heat between the air and the heating or cooling medium passing through the hollow scroll will readily occur by conduction through the body of the scroll. Also, since the passage I 5 is entirely enclosed the heating or cooling medium is maintained in a separate circuit and no leakage or mixing of that medium with the air pumped by the blower can occur.

In order to afford maximum conduction contact of the air handled by the blower with the body of the scroll I a plurality of fins or radial extensions of the scroll body are provided on both its inner and outer surfaces. The outer fins I9 are disposed to extend axially across the surface of the scroll in the spaces between the ribs 1, which support the shell 6 as shown in Figure 5, and these fins I9, together with the ribs 1, are given a slight curvature in the direction of rotation of the impeller 5, from the closed side of the blower casing, in order to minimize resistance to air flow and afford a greater length of contact with the air.

The fins 20 on the interior of the scroll I are arranged to extend circumferentially around the scroll, in the direction of rotation of the impeller 5, and these fins are spaced apart axially or from side to side of the scroll so as to provide a plurality of channels in which the air pumped by the impeller 5 will pass as it is thrown centrifugally against the inner surface of the scroll and pushed toward the discharge outlet I4. The inner fins 20 are arranged to maintain a uniform clearance from the tips of the rotor blades and their height is thus increased from the cut-off point in the blower casing to the discharge outlet in direct proportion to radii of the volute curvature of the scroll. In this manner the maximum of fin surface contact is had with the air as it is pumped through the blower casing.

It will now be seen that the herein described device provides a compact and efficient heat exchange unit for transfer of heat between air pumped by the blower and a separate medium which fiows through a separate fluid-tight internal passage in the body of the blower scroll. Since the mediums between which the heat trans fer is to occur are wholly separated from each other by the construction of the heat-exchanging blower, the device may be utilized for either heat- 4 ing or cooling of the air handled by the blower and with substantially any fluid heat conducting medium.

For example, the improved heat-exchanging blower may be used in conjunction with a heat pump or refrigerating apparatus for air conditioning purposes. For an air heating operation the hollow scroll of the heat-exchanging blower may be connected to a steam line or serve as the condensor of a heat pump or refrigerating apparatus; and for cooling purposes the device may serve as the evaporator for a refrigerating apparatus or be connected to a cold water circulating system. In either case the refrigerant, or other heat conducting medium, may pass directly through the hollow walled scroll of the blower without danger of leakage into the air being handled by the blower.

Also the length of the fins, both internal and external, provides a sufiicient total heat conducting surface to permit them to be spaced apart far enough as to create a negligible amount of resistance to the air flow. Thus the air leaves the blower outlet at the required velocity pressure and static pressure without excessive rotor speed and power consumption, with a resultant quiet operation and lower maintenance cost.

The main advantages of this invention reside in the simple construction of the device and its high efiiciency as a heat exchanger. Other advantages are to be found in the compact unitary arrangement of the device whereby it may be readily mounted for use and easily connected into the circuit of a suitable heating or cooling medium. Still further advantages are to be found in the adaptability of the improved heat exchange blower for use inair conditioning systems and particularly those self-contained air conditioning units for home or office use.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described, it will be understood that details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claim:

I claim:

A heat exchange device comprising a hollow walled volute casing closed on one side and having an air inlet on its opposite side and a tangential air outlet, an impeller mounted for rotation within said casing on the axis thereof, a plurality of radial fins extending axially on the outer surface of said volute casing, said fins being curved axially from the closed side of said casing in the direction of rotation of said impeller, and a housing surrounding said casing and spaced therefrom, said housing having an air inlet on the side adjacent the closed side of said casing, and said casing having inlet and outlet conduits for a heat conducting fluid communicating with the space within its hollow wall.

WILLIAM G. PATTERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 975,851 Garner Nov. 15, 1910 2,037,998 Norquist Apr. 21, 1936 2,100,281 Hueber et al Nov. 23, 1937 2,119,140 Payne May 31, 1938 2,330,122 I-Iigley Sept. 21, 1943 

